September 1, 2009
India may join ASEAN seafood group
The ASEAN Seafood Federation, a newly-formed regional grouping of seafood producers, processors and exporters from ASEAN member states, has invited the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) to join them.
SEAI in turn has expressed interest in joining the Federation, as it would give access to better technology, food safety assurance, logistics and marketing.
The Federation will also become a force to reckon with when India and China join in, with the group accounting for 70-75 percent of global seafood production, said SEAI president Anwar Hashim.
Anwar said India's joining hands with the Federation would enable better cooperation in the fields of quality standardisation, inspection and certification, and labelling and packaging.
It would also help members to share trade and market information, generating a better understanding of the regional production and consumption trends.
The Federation was founded by the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, with the group claiming to account for nearly 50 percent of global seafood production.
